


eventually

by tjmraso



Category: Dong Bang Shin Ki, JYJ - Fandom
Genre: M/M, inTime!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-05
Updated: 2013-02-05
Packaged: 2017-11-28 07:33:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/671892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tjmraso/pseuds/tjmraso
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Don't worry about it, Jaejoong-sshi. I'm just a guy who wanted to make sure time stays where it belongs."</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	eventually

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to apologize for the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. I tried my best, but seeing how English is not my native language (and yes, I choose to write in it), I hope those can be forgiven.

"In a fucking _ghetto_?" the commander cries out.  
Jaejoong squeezes the collar of his overcoat, even more tightly than before. Changmin, next to him, steps from foot to foot, staring at his boots.   
"When you're putting in overtime, you don't spend it looking for some pickpocketing asshole. In a _fucking ghetto_."  
There's a grin plastered on Changmin's face, and thankfully, the commander hasn't seen it yet, as he's standing close to the window, his back turned to them. It's the first time Jaejoong's ever been to his office, and he's fascinated with the mere fact that there even is a window. Ask any Time Keeper, anyone, from all over the world, there are _never_ any windows. Just the screens and hundreds of clocks that are always ticking.  
Jaejoong sees the commander start to turn and nudges Changmin's side, hard. The younger man hisses in pain.  
"One more time I hear about you going to the 12th zone - you'll both be out of a job," the commander spits out and waves them out of his office.  
Changmin opens his mouth in a sure attempt to get himself fired, but Jaejoong pulls him out the door by the collar.

Back in the car he punches Changmin in the shoulder. "You have a fucking death wish, don't you."  
"Nope, hyung, I really don't."  
Three years working together, and it's the seventy nineth time Jaejoong has asked this question.  
He's from the 11th zone, he's used to keeping count.  
They take off to the 5th right after Jaejoong wastes almost ten minutes on yelling at his partner.  
"You know how I'm always talking about new uniforms for the TKs?" says Changmin while playing with the radio settings.  
Jaejoong snorts loudly.  
"I've made some sketches, do you want to see?"  
Jaejoong doesn't reply and doesn't stop the car either. There's only an hour left until the end of their shift, and technically they will be in the 5th for the duration of this time. On their way to another border.

"And it's _me_ who has a death wish," Changmin laughs when they cross it.  
Jaejoong turns to look at him. "We have a day off tomorrow, don't we? Who the fuck cares where two low-ranked Time Keepers spend their weekends?"  
Changmin stares at him for exactly eleven seconds (Jaejoong's heart has been beating with the clock ever since he turned 26 in real time), then smiles and turns away to now stare out the window. "That awesome punk-rock radio station, was it in the 7th or the 8th?"  
Jaejoong pushes the pedal even harder, "the 9th."  
Changmin closes his eyes and lifts up his legs, resting his feet on the panel. Against regulations. "Can't get there soon enough."

+

They pay four hours for the cheapest room in the cheapest motel there is and then Changmin spends one more on the movie. When Jaejoong comes back with cold burgers and greasy fries, he has no choice but to live with it, because the Sound of Music is one of the classics and they haven't watched it in about five months and Jaejoong's started to forget some of the dialogue already.  
And by the time Julie Andrews starts singing about her favourite things, Chagmin manages to make another run for the food. He offers some of it to Jaejoong, but ends up eating all of it alone. He spends a shit load of hours on films and fast food and Jaejoong is the opposite.  
"Motherfucker offered to blow me for a day," Changmin spits out when he comes back with the burgers.  
Jaejoong rolls his eyes. "So?"  
"So I asked if he'd throw the food in for free."  
"And?"  
"Well, let's just say I had to pay for the food and still am sexually frustrated."  
"Good for you," Jaejoong smiles and presses play again.  
Changmin takes the remote from him and pauses the film. "Were you even listening?"  
"I'm not going to blow you just because you've only had sex with your hand for the last three years."  
Changmin looks away, presses play and eats three burgers in less then ten minutes. Jaejoong keeps his eyes on the screen until the end titles start rolling. When he turns off the TV, Changmin's already asleep. He puts a blanket over younger man's body and sits back down. It's almost 3am and they will have to get up in less than four hours and he thinks about maybe going out on the streets and getting started. Glances over the timer, he makes sure that he has enough, steps into his boots, throws on the only civilian jacket he brought and is ready to close the door when Changmin cries out from his place on the couch. For a really tall guy he takes up very little of it, curling up in a fedus position. His hair is damp with cold sweat and he's shaking all over, panting. Jaejoong crosses his fingers in hopes that Changmin doesn't do that one thing that will make him stay, no matter how much he wants to leave the room, and of course Changmin has to go ahead and breathe " _hyung, Jae-hyung_ ".  
He kicks off his boots as soon as he gets back to the couch. He takes Changmin's hand in his, it's damp with sweat, too, and he really shouldn't want to take care of the kid, it's only been three years, and he's been with his last partner for seventeen and never really bothered to make sure if he was okay. But Changmin, this kid has been driving Jaejoong crazy since the first day they've spent chasing one of the fifty two murderers they've caught. During the first week of them working together he managed to take shit from the commander in Jaejoong's place, put himself in front of a gun that had originally been aimed at Jaejoong, drove their car into a lake, let the hooker they arrested go after hearing a tear-jerking fake story about her mother dying of cancer and her father the biggest drunk in the eleventh, quoted Martin Luther King Jr two hundred and twenty three times and spent three days and fifteen hours on coffee and junk food. He also had nightmares every other night. Still has. Sometimes Jaejoong thinks about moving in with the kid and sleeping on the floor next to his bed, just to make sure he doesn't spend the entire night shaking, sweating and crying. Which he does, judging by the dark circles permanently set under his eyes.  
But when he comes back to his normal state of mind, like that night, he settles for picking the kid up from the couch, carrying him to the bed, slipping under the covers with him, fully dressed, uncomfortable, pulling him as close as possible. He kisses Changmin on the forehead and caresses the back of his neck.  
When Jaejoong wakes up three hours later he still has a day and a half to go and Changmin's in the shower. His side of the bed is cold and made while Jaejoong's tangled up in damp sheets. The water stops running after less than a minute and Changmin walks out with nothing but a towel around his waist. "Morning," he says and goes through the travel backpack looking for a clean shirt.  
"This guy, what do we know about him?"  
Jaejoong shrugs. "He strikes by the back exits of random bars. Picks up both women and men, takes them to the alley and steals their time. There was a witness that said that he's leaving them with a few seconds to call their loved ones and say goodbye. He also seems to be having sex with some of them."  
"Before he takes the time?"  
"Yep."  
"Both men and women?"  
Changmin snorts pulling his shorts up and drops the towel on the floor. "Bisexuals. Evil little freaks."  
Jaejoong stares at him as if he hears Changmin say something like that for the first time. The kid isn't familiar with the term political correctness. "Seriously?"  
"What about the witness?"  
"His timer is yet to go on," Jaejoong sighs, "he was waiting for his boyfriend on the street corner when he turned around to light a cigarette, there was wind, you see... and that was when he noticed the unsub. Apparently, he waited to see if the girl would be able to reach her mother."  
"Is he a hustler?" Changmin asks.  
"Who?"  
"The witness. If he's a hustler he can't testify," Changmin shrugs, "he's not credible if he's a hustler."  
Jaejoong stands up and starts making the bed. He needs to put his hands to use. Otherwise he'd beat the crap out of his partner. "He's not a hustler. He works at that bar. His shift was over and he went out on the street to wait for his boyfriend to pick him up."  
"Okay, fine," Changmin says, going through the empty cartons, looking for leftover fries, "did he see the unsub? His face?"  
"We're meeting him at the Chinese place in twenty minutes."  
Changmin gives him the first smile of the day. "Good. I'm up for Chinese."

+

 _2 years, eleven months and three days ago_  
"Do you want to go out for a drink?" Changmin asks on the Friday night, after their shift is over and all the paperwork is filled and they have absolutely nothing to do with themselves.  
"Sure," Jaejoong says, but it sounds more like a question than a positive reply.  
They go out in their uniforms because Changmin doesn't know yet and Jaejoong doesn't care anymore. He takes his new partner to a bar where Jaejoong gets to drink for free because the owner, Park Yoochun, owes him about a million favors for saving his ass from a con-artist who almost stole not just his bar and his time, but also his identity. There are no other Time Keepers there, and if there are, they are wearing civilian clothes.  
They order a whole bottle of tequila and sit at the far end of the bar, hidden in the shadows. Jaejoong keeps glancing at Changmin, who's just sitting there, silent. Then they take the first shot.

"So, how old are you, in real time?" Jaejoong asks, genuinely interested.  
Changmin snorts and flicks his thumbnail on the counter. "Twenty-eight. You?"  
"Three hundred and seventy-six," Jaejoong sighs, "I've been been a Time Keeper ever since I turned twenty-six."  
Changmin fills the shot glasses again and asks the bartender for two beers. He glances over them, the outfits are clearly making him uncomfortable. But then he gives Changmin a love-striken look. Jaejoong takes a sip from his bottle.  
"You know, I've never met a person over a hundred years old who still knows exactly how old he or she is."  
Jaejoong shrugs. Figures, a twenty-eight year old kid from the 5th knows a shit load of people over a hundred. Jaejoong has never met anyone over seventy until he moved up the ladder and got to be a Time Keeper in the 3rd.

When they get to shot number seven, Jaejoong asks the question that's been bugging him since he'd been informed about his new partner. "Why is your file classified?"  
Changmin shrugs and taps him fingers on the floor. His facial expression doesn't change a bit from that sad musing one he's adopted twenty minutes ago. "Why would you want to read my file? Can't you just ask me?"  
"We're working together, I wanted to know what to expect. There was no way I could've seen the bullshit you pulled yesterday coming."  
"Don't worry about it, Jaejoong-sshi. I'm just a guy who wanted to make sure time stays where it belongs."  
He grins, looking at the half-empty beer bottle. It's his second one, and he's taking his time with it, unlike the first one he's gulped down almost like he was in a hurry. People from the 5th are rarely in a hurry.  
"Where are you from?" Jaejoong asks, hesitant.  
Changmin shrugs again. "Why do you care?"  
Jaejoong fights the strond urge to punch the kid in the face. "Because I do."  
"I was born in Namsan, in the 1st. My father got into gambling. My mom said he was really bad at it and ended up losing almost everything we had. So she got a divorce. Her lawyers were roothless and we got all he had left. It still wasn't enough to stay in the 1st and we ended up in the 5th by the time I turned three. I don't remember much from the time before that, all I know is what my mother told me. What about you?"  
Jaejoong's glad the kid asked. Here's his chance to rub it in. "11th. I became a Time Keeper there after working at the factory for a year. Moved up the ladder pretty quickly and now I'm here."  
"What about your parents?"  
"They've been dead for centuries. I don't think they wanted to keep running much longer."

"I've never killed anyone before," Changmin says when they finish the bottle.  
"Why'd you do it?" Jaejoong asks and he's not thinking about the moment his new partner pulled the trigger.  
"It only took a second, you know?" Changmin smiles, "I was thinking, if one of us has to die. Who'd be better off alive."  
Jaejoong turns to look at him. "You figured, a guy over three hundred and fifty deserves to live longer than someone who's barely twenty-eight?"  
Changmin laughs at him, drunk and unsteady in his seat. "No, you don't get it. I figured _you_ deserve to live longer than _I_ do."  
Jaejoong gulps the rest of his beer down. Most would be glad to get an idiot partner who'll always stand in front of the bullet. Like it's in his job description. But not Jaejoong, not him. He's not a President and Changmin's not in Secret Service.  
"I don't want you to do that anymore. You don't give up your life to save mine. You think of a plan that will get both of us out alive."  
Changmin doesn't say anything for a minute or so. Jaejoong doesn't push for a reply.  
"I can't promise anything," the kid says and shifts in his chair until he's facing Jaejoong, their foreheads just inches apart. He loses balance right after and falls forward clumsily, lips on Jaejoong's cheek, hands on Jaejoong's thighs. His breathing is harsh and ragged, and he whispers something in his hyung's ear.

"No one is ever going to die in my place. That's a _promise_ ," Jaejoong repeats his partner's words on the way back home. He walks about twenty-five blocks and thinks about coming in early the next day.

...

"This is becoming a nice tradition," says Changmin, sipping his whiskey. Yoochun grins at him and Jaejoong from behind the bar.  
"It's been a nice little tradition for me for the past two centuries," snorts Jaejoong. Yoochun's grin grows even wider.  
"Yeah, sure. Getting drunk, alone, after solving a case, that's nice." Changmin looks up at Yoochun, smiling back and faking surprise.  
"Oh, wow."  
"Shut up."  
They drink in silence for a while, but when Yoochun goes off to scold the new bartender, Changmin relaxes and turns to face his partner. "He's a good friend to you, this hyung, isn't he?"  
Jaejoong shrugs. "I guess. What do you care?" Scared of his own words, he turns to look at Changmin but is relieved to see that apparently the kid is used to this kind of treatment and doesn't take it seriously anymore.  
"I'm just happy for you, hyung," smiles Changmin and finishes his drink in one go. He shudders and puts the glass back on the counter. "That, you know, I'm not the only one you have in your life."  
Jaejoong starts laughing, but it comes off as fake as it could. So he stops. Changmin puts his hand on his hyungs's shoulder and squeezes. Jaejoong holds his breath for a long moment. "Come home with me," he whispers and Changmin takes his hand off Jaejoong's shoulder.

They end up at Changmin's place. In the middle of the night, drunk and as awkward as they've ever been. Changmin tries to open the door and only succeeds on his third try. They stumble inside and suddenly the place looks completely different. Jaejoong looks over the living room and is unable to place his finger on what's wrong. Since his last time here, nothing really changed. All the furniture is in its place, the lights are still too bright for his eyes, the walls too white, too. Then he turns to look at Changmin.  
He's standing by the front door, leaning on the wall, eyes shut. His lips are moving slightly but there's no sound coming out of his mouth. Jaejoong takes a step, another one, each hesitant and cautious. It's only when he's a foot away from the younger man when Changmin opens his eyes, leaps forward and presses his lips against Jaejoong's. It's barely a kiss since the older man keeps his lips in a tight line and it's only his eyes that fly wide open in surprise.  
Changmin pulls back for a second, brushes his thumbs under Jaejoong's eyelids and kisses him again.  
And this time, this time, it's different. It's not the kiss that surprised Jaejoong, more the way in which it happened. Unannounced, completely out of nowhere. He did expect Changmin to make the first move at some point (more like hoped for it, really), but he also expected slow build-up and sunset on the beach or something romantic. He didn't expect it to happen in the hallway of an apartment that only smelled of chocolate muffins, cheap cologne and Changmin.  
"It's stuck," he hears Changmin say and only then notices that his dongsaeng has pulled away again and is losing a fight with the zipper on the leather coat, "get it off, just, hyung, I don't want it, get it off." Changmin sounds desperate somehow, his lips are shaking and his eyes are wet like tears are about to burst. Jaejoong gets rid of the coat in a few short moments, then the vest and the tight shirt, while changmin watches him, dazed.  
"Hey, hey," says Jaejoong, tracing Changmin's jawline with his fingertips, "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, we're okay, yeah?"  
Changmin nods frantically while taking off his own clothes. The pants are going to be even harder, Jaejoong thinks, with the boots and all the zippers and the belts. But then he notices a chain on Changmin's neck, a chain with a bullet on it. A scar next to the damn thing.  
"What's this?" he asks and Changmin drops his head. He mutters something so quietly, it's impossible to hear, so Jaejoong repeats his question.  
"My sister. When dad's creditors found us in the 5th, they threatened to kill my sisters. My mother held me back and they shot one of them in the head. They said," his voice is perfectly still, "they said when they come back, they're going to kill the other one, and it's not going to be as painless."  
"So you stood in front of her, you idiot," Jaejoong flinches, kissing the scarred skin, "how are you not dead right now?"  
Changmin smiles, "they didn't expect me to take it."  
"Take what?" Jaejoong worries.  
"Never mind, hyung, okay?"

+

"I won't be able to get to it in time," Jaejoong says, looking at the timer. The seconds are ticking away, and he only has a minute and a half on it. He can see the car on the other end of the street, it's not that far, but he's not fast enough. "Go, please, just go."  
Changmin pulls him up from the ground. "You fucking idiot! I've stood in front of bullets for you, ready to die just so you can keep on living, you sick fuck! We're not doing this, I'm not turning my back and count the seconds until you die. Never!"  
When he kisses Jaejoong, their noses smash together, their foreheads bump and Jaejoong's arm is in Changmin's hand. The clock is running the other way now.  
"And now we run," Changmin says, panting, when he pulls away, "now, you uneducated asshole, we fucking run."  
Jaejoong doesn't even have a second to check how much time he has left. He grabs for Changmin's hand and they take off. For the first time since he'd turned twenty-five Jaejoong doesn't give a shit about it. Every leap can be the last one, but as long as Changmin's hand is in his, he really doesn't care.  
Changmin pushes him into the car first and only recharges when he's sure Jaejoong did so. Jaejoong manages to glance over Changmin's timer before he puts it above the device. There are two seconds left before the clock starts running forward. He takes one day, like they usually do.

Three hours later, on the way back to the 3rd, a zone they've both grown to hate, one for three centuries, the other - for barely over three years, Changmin puts his arm around Jaejoong's shoulder and kisses him fast, right on the mouth.  
"There's one thing you need to know, hyung," he says, voice low, "no matter how much I have left myself, if you're low on time, I'll always give you half. And that's not up for discussion."  
Jaejoong moves his hand up Changmin's thigh, the other one firm on the steering wheel. "I love you too," he whispers and feels Changmin's smile sew the last piece of his once shattered heart back into place.

+

They run out of time. _Eventually_.


End file.
